The Olympic Torch Relay is scheduled to come to Nagano on Saturday April 26th. If I can wiggle out of a ryokan assoc. meeting that morning, I want to take my sons and go cheer on the torch. Of course, I will also take a Tibet flag in honor of the Dalai Lama and his peace movement. He touched down in Narita on his way to my hometown of Seattle, and commented that he supports the Beijing Olympics, but also supports Freedom of Speech for Tibet. Meanwhile, today's Yomiuri newspaper headline talks about the Japanese Government using anti-Hooligan laws to keep out torch protestors. Should we be worried about Freedom of Speech in Japan as well?
4月２６市に五輪聖火が長野に来る予定。息子達を連れて、応援しに行く計画を立ている。チベットの旗を持って。ダライラマが成田経由で私の地元のシアトルに行きまして、「北京五輪を支持するが、チベットの為に言論の自由も」と仰ったそうです。賛成です。差し当たっては、今日の読売新聞の大見出しによると、聖火抗議者の入国を断る為にフーリガン法を使うそうです。日本での言論の自由が心配！
注：北京五輪聖火リレー/長野のHPのリンクの為にタイトルをクリック

(Last Report from Seattle)
This was our last day in Seattle. Our trip was too short to do all the things we wanted. One thing I really wanted to do but didn't have the time for was to stop at a new sake shop, "Sake-Nomi" (www.sakenomi.us). Apparently sake's popularity is booming in the States, and there's a new shop in downtown Seattle that specializes in gourmet sake, including from Nagano. And it happens to be run from some old friends of mine. Johnny and Taiko. If you guys see this blog, I hope you are doing well!
これが里帰りの最後の日。今回は短すぎて、行きたいところの全部に行かれなかった。その１つはシアトルの新しい酒専門店：「さけのみ」(www.sakenomi.us). 信州の酒も扱っているようです。そして、偶然だけど、私の昔の友人がやっている。ジョニーさんとTaikoさん、このブログを見れば、「お元気で！」。

弟との息子と我が息子二人とMarinersの試合を見に行ってきました。イチロ選手をたっぷり応援してきました。
米国にも日本にも野球が大人気。それぞれの応援の仕方で国民の違いが見える。個人化の強い米国人は好きな様に自由に応援する。団体化の強い日本人は全員で一緒に選手の応援歌を歌う。それぞれの良い所を生かして、私は「かっ飛ばせイチロ！」と応援しました。
Tonight I went to the Mariners game with our two sons and my brother and his son. We cheered on Ichiro!
Baseball is immensely popular both in Japan and in the States. But you can really tell the cultural differences between the two in the way they cheer. In the States, anyone and everyone cheers whatever, whenever they want to, e.g. "Throw the bum out!" In Japan, everyone sings in unison each batter's cheer. Individualism vs. group mentality!

Ichiro Time is here! Opening Day for the Seattle Mariners was yesterday, and we are going to the game tonight to cheer on Ichiro and company. As you can tell by these articles in the Seattle newspapers, Ichiro is a hero here in Seattle. And conversely, Seattle is on the map in Japan. Wherever I go in Japan, people ask my where I'm from. When I say, "Seattle," they usually say, "Oh, Ichiro!"
シアトルMarinersのオーペン戦は昨日に行いました。シアトルの新聞を見れば分かると思いますけど、シアトルではイチロがヒーローです。そして、イチロのお陰、私の出身地のシアトルが日本人の皆に知られている。今晩の試合に行く予定なのでイチロ選手を応援してきます！

Last weekend, it looked like Halloween in Downtown Seattle. We saw all kinds of creatures, all in town for SakuraCon (www.sakuracon.org), the biggest anime convention in the Pacific Northwest. We even saw a samurai walking up 5th Avenue. (He did look a little portly, though...) It just goes to show you that anime is as huge in the States as it is in Akihabara or Harajuku.
週末はシアトルのダウンタウンがハロウィーンのような雰囲気になっていた。というのは、仮装している人が沢山いました。でも、良く見たら、仮装の皆はアニメのキャラクターでした。SakuraConというアニメのコンベンションが行われた訳。コスプレーは原宿や秋葉原に負けないぐらいにアメリカにも人気！

From when I was a little kid growing up in Seattle, my parents had a cabin outside of Granite Falls. We would drive up there practically every weekend in the summer, and every time we would pass this interesting arch. I had no idea what it was, but then when I got into college and first visited Japan, I saw something similar at Shinto Shrines. I finally put 2 and 2 together, and realized there had been a shrine in Granite Falls, the Tsubaki Grand Shrine -- the first shinto shrine in North America. Check it out at www.tsubakishrine.org. The priest, Rev. Barrish, does an impressive "o-harae" ceremony.
シアトルで育たれた中で、親がシアトルから車で一時間ぐらい離れている山の方でちょっとしたキャビンがありました。行く度にこの門を通りました。そして、大学のころに始めて日本に行ったら同じような門を沢山見た。神社の鳥居だと分かってきたが、まっさかこのアメリカの山の方に神社があると？しかし、真さにそうです。「アメリカ椿大神社」へよこそ！www.tsubakishrine.orgにて。

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website.

If you take a bath at Kamesei, you will likely see a beautifully sculpted turtle above the onsen water spout. If you've wondered where he came from, this is it: Orcas Island Pottery. (www.orcasislandpottery.com) Mari and I visited there today, during our vacation from our vacation to Orcas Island. The place is a magical combination of Pacific Northwest island setting and gorgeous pottery. Many of the pottery makers use Japanese-inspired "Raku" style.
亀清の大浴場に陶芸の代わった亀があります。シアトルとカナダの間にあるオルカスという島で作られました。この素敵な場所でこの素敵な焼物が作られている。尚且つ、日本なりの「ラク」焼が人気。

Click here for Kamesei Ryokan website

Jimmy Hendrix, or "Jimmy Hen-chan" as he is referred to in Japan, happens to be really famous in Japan. He also happened to have come from my home town, Seattle. There is this statue of him on Broadway, so you can go and say "hi" to Jimmy if you visit. One of our guests recently was a big fan, so I promised I would take a picture and post it.
ジミーヘンドリックス（ジミーヘンちゃん）がシアトルの人だと御存知でしたか？ブロードウィー通りに行けば、この像が見えます。この間のお客さんに写真を撮って載せる約束しましたので、宜しくお願い致します！

Click here for Kameesi Ryokan website.亀清旅館のHPはこちら

Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are as popular in the States as in Japan, so we weren't surprised to see them in the toy aisle in Seattle. But what's up with all the Power Ranger action figures? Our son Kenny wanted to get Geki-Red. Can't we get as much Ranger stuff as we could possibly want when we get back to Japan? 🙂
ポケモンやユギオが日本と一緒にシアトルで人気だと知っていましたが、何とかレーンジャーのおもちゃも沢山あって、ビックリしました。我が息子が「欲しい」と騒いでいましたが、態々アメリカで買うことは無いじゃないかと。。。

This is where I studied Japanese -- the University of Washington. I took my family there today and, perfect timing, the cherry blossoms in the Quad were in full bloom. The classical buildings, the rich green lawn, the quaint brick pathways all make for a beautiful setting for the sakura trees, which were imported from Japan. There are probably settings in Japan as beautiful, but Hanami (flower viewing) is so much nicer here. In Japan, people put out hideous blue plastic sheets and hold loud drunken parties complete with obnoxious karaoke. It's called "hana yori dango" (more the party than the blossoms). Here you can actually enjoy the blossoms!
ここは私が日本語を習った所です：ワシントン大学です。桜がちょうど満開でした。そして、日本の花見と違って、目に激しいブルーシートが無い！